UAF webinar examines climate change impacts on salmon

by Julie Stricker

A warming climate is both harming and helping salmon in northern regions, according to a University of Alaska Fairbanks fisheries researcher.

Peter Westley is an associate professor, the Wakefield Chair of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, and principal investigator of the Salmonid Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Lab at UAF.

He will discuss the variable role of warming on Alaska’s salmon and its impact on salmon-reliant communities in a free statewide webinar hosted by the UAF Cooperative Extension Service.

In some regions, warm summers are associated with unusual mortality, delayed migrations and prespawning mortality on salmon spawning grounds. In other regions, warming is apparently “just right” and is associated with historically high salmon abundances. Salmon have also been observed in places that have historically been too cold for the fish.

Westley’s talk will conclude with a discussion of tangible actions Alaskans can take to sustain the 14,000-year-plus relationship between salmon and people in Alaska.

The Zoom webinar will be held from noon-1 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 24. Register using the online form or visit https://bit.ly/WarmSalmon. For more information, contact Molly Johansson at 907-786-6313 or [email protected].